Management Methods: Prescribed Grazing

Introduction

Prescribed grazing is the application of domestic livestock grazing at a specified season and intensity to accomplish specific vegetation management goals. While traditional grazing practices are often blamed for promoting plant invasions, prescriptive grazing can be used to control invasive plant populations and enhance desirable vegetation conditions.

Prescribed grazing is a relatively new addition to the invasive plant management toolbox, and information related to the impacts of grazing on various invasive plants and plant communities is limited.

Prescribed grazing should be used sensibly, with careful consideration of its compatibility with the habitat, land management goals, infestation characteristics, livestock needs, and resources available to implement the program successfully.

In this module, you will become familiar with

different roles of grazing in natural, domesticated, and prescribed grazing systems

effects of grazing on biological communities and the environment

general principles for developing grazing prescriptions

examples of how grazing prescriptions can be integrated into invasive plant management

Natural Grazing Systems

Grazing by wild ungulates plays an important ecological role in some plant communities. Photo credit: D Menke/USFWS

Grasslands and wild ungulates such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) have coexisted for tens of millions of years, occupying once widespread "grazing ecosystems" (Frank et al. 1998). These animals play an important role in maintaining species composition and functional character of natural grazing systems.